Vehicle-shifting mechanism.



M B N A H 0 QB M R U c v. IF Z E L c H E v Arrucmon mm AUG.2. ms.

Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

Witnesses Attorneys cognac, r

; zEnAs A. courts, or semen, cononaiao.

To all whom it may concern:

=9; Be it known that I, 'ZENAS A. Conrrs, a.

citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of "Colorado have invented a new and useful Vehicle-hifting Mechanism, of which the and other vehicles out of positions where they are stalled, one' of the objects of the invention being to provide mechanism of this character which is simple and compact in construction, can be readily stored in a motor vehicle or thelike, and can be readily set up at any point, the mechanism being so arranged that it can bereasily operated to drag vehicles'out of mud holes, up embankments, etc. I

A further object is to provide mechanism of this character iniflVhiC h the haul'line can be quickly paid out while the mechanism is bei'ngsetup.= a a i W 1th the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description roceeds, the invention resides in the comhination and arrangement of parts and in the details of. construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departin from the spirit of the invention.

In t e accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown. In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the operating mechanism, parts being shown in section.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a base plate of any suitable proportions and along the center of the top face of this plate is secured a strip 2 forming the base of an upstanding frame. This strip has spaced circular openings 3 and 4, the bottoms of the openings being closed by the base plate 1. An end frame or yoke 5 extends upwardly from and is secured to one end portion of the base plate and secured upon the center of this upstanding yoke is a top bar 6 one end portion of which is bent downwardly as at 7 and is secured to the corresponding end of the strip 2. This bar 6 is provided with spaced circular openings 8 and 9 respectively, said Application filed August 2, 1916'. Serial-No. 112,781.

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Specification of Lettersji'eteiitf 1951 openingsl bein .openingsfi an A. Journaledwithin the. alining openings 3 and 8 is a shaft 10 the lowerend of which ls-designed tjoibearagainst the plate l while the upper end extends upwardly beyond the bar 6 and extends through asleeve ll-which rests upon the bar 6 and.is securedto-the shaft 10 in any suitable manner, asby means of a pin l2.- Formed integral with the sleeve 11 is a ratchet wheel 13 which rests upon the bar 6 and is normally engaged by a pawll4 which can, if desired, be spring pressed, .as will beobvious. Sleeve 11 is angular in cross section and is adapted to be detachably engaged by. an actuating lever or crank 15.

Loosely mounted on shaft 10 is a drum 16 integral with .a gear 17 which isprovided at one end of the drum. A disk 18 isamounted on the other. end of 'the drum and secured to the shaft '10 and above this disk-gis asmall drive gear 19. Gear 17 is preferably formed with a keyho lenslot 20r:for the:reception of the-"knotted end portion of a cable 21.

Mounted for rotation within the opening 4 is an eccentric 21 formed integral with one end portion of a shaft 22, the other end of the shaft being extended into an eccentric 23 which is mounted for rotation within the opening 9. A large gear 24 is adapted under certain conditions to mesh with gear 19 and this gear 24 is secured to or formed with a sleeve 25 which is mounted for rotation on the shaft 22. Another small gear 26 is secured to said sleeve 25 or formed therewith and is adapted to mesh with the gear 17.

Secured to one end of the shaft 22 is a lever 27 having a spring finger 28 extending therefrom. This finger is adapted to engage either of two studs 29 and 30 extending upwardly from the bar 6. When the finger 28 is in engagement with the stud 29, shaft 22 and the eccentrics 21 and 23 are held against rotation while the gear 24 is held in mesh with gear 19 and gear 26 is held in mesh with gear 17 However, by springing finger 28 out of engagement with stud 29 and placin it in engagement with stud 30, this one-ha f rotation of the shaft 22 will result in a corresponding rotation of the two eccentrics which will move the gears 24 and 26 out of engagement with the respective arranged directly over the i gears 19 and 17 Consequently the drum 11 It is designed to rovide stakes preferably, pf etal and whi h haye beenindicated 'at"'33" for" insertion "through" the openings 31 and 82 and which are adapted to -bedriven into the ground. An additional stake prefer'abl yior'med of a length of 'T-rail 3 and rovided with a plate 35 forming retaining wings, is likewise provided. A chain 36 is extended from this stake and is adapted to be placed in engagement with one of the stakes'38.

When it is desired to use the apparatus for the purpose of moving a vehicle out of any position in which it may be stalled, the apparatus is placed on the ground at a point beyond the vehicle and is fastened in place by driving the stakes 38 into the ground. The shaft is rotated so as to shift the eccentrics thereon and move the gears '24: and 26 out of mesh with-the gears 19 and 17. Consequently cable 21 can be paid out rapidly and attached to the vehicle.

Shaft Z'is t-henagain rotated to move'the gears into mesh after which crank arm 15 is iop'erated andwill cause power tobe trans mitted from' gear 19 'to gear 24 and from Copies. this patent may tie-obtained. in:

gear 26 togiaar "175 flhis .will result in a slow winding of the cable upon the drum 16. The .n'iccln-tnis-im is such, however, that consideraiile power is" thus obtained with the result that a vehicle can be easily shifted.

It will'he seen that the apparatus is very durable, efficient and by reason of its Coin pact construction, can be easily carried in an ordinary vehicle without occupying an excessive amount of space.

What is claimed is A vehicle shifting mechanism, comprising a frame, a shaft journaled in the frame, a drum loosely mounted on. the shaft, a second shaft eccentrically journaled in the e a hollow shaft turning on the eccen iaft, gearing between the hollow shaft l the drum, gearing between the hollow ft and the first shaft, means for rotating shaft, a resilient finger (J71 the eccentric shaft for revolving the same, and studs on frame and selectively engaged by the finger to lOCl'I the eccentric shaft in gear engaged or disengaged position.

.In testimony that I. claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

- ZENAS A; CURTIS,-

\Vitnesses HENRIETTA CHAsn, AGNES B. HIGKMAN.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

